amber sea
with its islands of light, and divided it from the deeper blue of the
wide vault above. During the earlier part of this glorious display, the
eastern sky, as if in rivalry of the splendour of the opposite quarter
of the heavens, was spanned by two concentric rainbows, describing
complete semi-circles, with their bases resting upon the sea. In the
smaller and interior bow, all the colours were beautifully distinct; in
the outer and larger one, they were less brilliant, and arranged in an
order the reverse of that which is usual, the violet being the lowest
instead of the red. The rainbows vanished with the sun, and soon
afterwards the fiery glow in the west began to fade. But the scene only
changed its character, without losing any of its beauty. So smooth was
the sea on that night that the whole dome of the sky, with every sailing
cloudflake, and every star, was perfectly reflected in it. Until the
moon rose, the line where the sky joined the ocean was indistinctly
defined, and the two were so blended together, that we actually seemed
suspended in the centre of a vast sphere; the heavens, instead of
terminating at the horizon, extended, spangled with stars, on every
side--below, as well as above, and around. The illusion was wonderfully
perfect; you almost held your breath as you glanced downward, and could
hardly refrain from starting nervously, so strong and bewildering was
the appearance of hanging poised in empty space.

Johnny, who had been sitting for a long time with his hands supporting
his head, and his elbows resting upon Arthur's knee, gazing out upon the
ocean, suddenly looked up into his face, and said--

"Arthur, I want you to tell me truly--do you still believe that we shall
be saved--do you hope so now, as you did yesterday, or do you think that
we must perish!"

"Do you suppose that I would try to deceive you, Johnny," said Arthur,
"that you ask me so earnestly to tell you truly?"

"No, but I feared you would not, perhaps, tell me the worst, thinking
that I could not bear it: and I suspected to-night, that you spoke more
cheerfully than you felt on my account. But I am not afraid, dear
Arthur, to know the truth; and do not hide it from me! I will try to
bear patiently, with you, and with the rest whatever comes upon us."

"I would not deceive you about such a matter, Johnny. I should not
think it right, though you are so young. But I can know nothing
certainly. We are in the